A Word on Surgery

In a nutshell, it sucks. And I'm not even talking about the actual surgery. THAT is probably the most easily handled part of the whole mess. I have:

• A rash on my upper right arm from the amount of times my blood pressure was taken.
• Bruises given by incompetent people who are told they can classify themselves as a phlebotomist.
• Enough adhesive residue on my body from tapes and such that I could throw myself up against a wall and stick to it. You know, kinda like the new Swiffer commercials where the "dirt" throws itself at the dustmop while Ann Wilson asks about love in the background.
• I am freaking tired. I have NO problem sleeping in the recliner but in my own bed? Hell no. I'm not a back sleeper. Never have been, so I just kinda lay there and think about how I'm being super paranoid because when I stand up too quick I get a little lightheaded. For me, lightheaded means, "Bleeding out" now. *sigh*
• Oh! Let's not forget the bruised arm from the IV. IV's are nice usually. They keep you from having to get a lot of shots or take a lot of pills. BUT flush them too quickly and OUCH. Got that...

Everyday I wake up and feel a bit better. My next big goals are:

• Getting the cath out
• Getting the drain out
• Being able to sleep in my normal sleep position.

Oh yes...a good night's sleep. I can't wait.

And so it begins...

Okay. Went to see Dr. Bonebrake today. I will be having a radical hysterectomy next Fri. 8/19/11 @ Cox South. Now of course being that the pathology of my cancer is so freaking weird OF COURSE I can't have a nice, clean laproscopic/robotic surgery. OH NOOOOO...I have to have the regular, old fashioned cut me open surgery. I don't think it's fair to be honest. I will live with the stitches. I get to have a neat thing called a 'superpubic catheter' too. Until I learn how to pee again. Doesn't THAT sound like fun? I WAS going to to throw away my 'fat' jeans but I guess I should keep them so there's room for the cath bag that will be strapped to my leg. *roll eyes*

The only other option is death and that would really fuck with my plans for nursing school so I'll go to school with a freaking pee bag on my leg if I have to for a while. The good news is I may actually end up NOT having to do radiation. Doc won't know until he's done the surgery. I hope not. I just want to get this crap over with. =)

OH! And I got my new Kindle today =) Also, I'm reading "Born of Ice" by Sherrilyn Kenyon.

I Have Cancer

This past weekend, I found out I have cancer. Today, I found out that, not only do I have cancer, I am a freak of nature. So, apparently my surgeon and my oncologist had me all set up: Radiation first, surgery after. Until they got the pathology report. In layman's terms, I have uterine cancer on my cervix. Oncologist has never seen this before. LOL So, for the rest of my life, if I am ever questioned about my cancer, I can't just say "Oh, I had uterine cancer." or "Oh, I had cervical cancer." I will have to say "I had uterine cancer on my cervix." and then deal with the looks I will get after that especially from people I meet in my future medical career.

Change of cancer, change of plans. I will have surgery first and then, if the doctor thinks I need it, about 6 weeks after that, I will have 5 weeks of radiation treatments and 4 or 5 (?) vaginal radiation treatments. All this while attending nursing school.

Nobody can say I'm not a multi-tasker.